#infes

 Dear Followers, 

Sorry I'm like THE WORST blogger ever but right after I updated last I had midterm exams to study for and papers to write and I had to put things on hold. But I'm back to write about my most recent experiences.

Takarazuka Revue (10/20)

So for those who aren't familiar with it, the Takarazuka Revue is a very famous all-female theater troupe that primarily performs in Takarazuka, Japan. Shows generally consist of a drama performance followed by an extravagant musical revue. One of my professors here was able to get group tickets for his students in all his classes and we got to see the drama Jin & the revue Gold Spark! Jin is based off a manga where a doctor ends up transported back to the Edo period - a story which has been adopted into a Japanese TV series and most recently a Korean drama. Even though I didn't understand the vast majority of the lines, the actors were really good at conveying the emotions of the characters and the set design and technical details were AMAZING. However, I definitely enjoyed the musical revue Gold Spark! the best. The otokoyaku (actors playing the male roles) wore bedazzled suits and belted out songs while dancing with the accuracy of boy bands. They were so charismatic that I could start to understand how the all-female troupe draws in such a loyal primarily female fanbase. Between all the glitter and Japanese versions of I Will Survive and Hot Stuff the energy from the stage was electric. It was also really cool seeing the top stars of the company walk out onto the stage for the curtain call with amazing feather plumes that could outdo any Vegas showgirl's as the rest of their comrades sing on the sides. 

Besides the show being amazing, the theater and the town itself were extremely beautiful. It was almost like being transported to another country as we walked across bridges and passed quaint shops and restaurants topped with apartments that looked like they should be in Spain or something. 

Home Visit 2

I got to see my Home Visit family again at the end of October! I met up with my home visit partner and her parents in Umeda and we went shopping, rode a really cool ferris wheel attached to the shopping haven Hep Five, and then explored the Umeda Sky Building which is absolutely gorgeous. It has the world's highest escalators and the view was breathtaking. We even stopped for warm drinks and cake at a cafe in the underground plaza that was somehow attached to the building. 

After exploring Umeda for awhile, we went back to their house. I watched part of a Japanese drama with my homevisit partner and younger brother and then I got to help make dinner - we had takoyaki! I've had Takoyaki before, but this was probably the most delicious I've ever had because I got to make it with family :) At first getting a hang of turning the takoyaki in the cooker was really difficult, but once I figured it out I did pretty well and my home visit family told me I did a really good job. Besides eating a ton of takoyaki, I had chips and about 3 glasses of beer before I couldn't eat anymore. Before leaving they gave me a souvenir of little individually wrapped cake slices. I can't wait to visit them again, but chances are it  will be my last visit so it's kind of bittersweet.

Halloweeeeeeeen

I was worried that Halloween would pass without much fuss here but I found out that those fears were definitely unfounded. A week before Halloween they had a Halloween party in my Seminar House complete with a costume contest and pizza from Costco. It was sooo much fun - people were taking pictures and talking and laughing and just letting loose after a difficult exam week. That weekend I went to a nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink place) for a late night drinking party with mostly people from my Seminar House. Everyone got a little tipsy, danced to music and then a few of us got a late night/early morning meal at Sukiya. For those who don't know, Sukiya is a beef bowl restaurant with really cheap and really delicious food. On actual Halloween everyone wore their costumes to school - including a hoard of Ronald McDonald's that scared basically all of the international students - and there was a big costume contest at the end of the day. Let me tell you, you haven't really had Halloween until over half your school is watching a group of people dressed as Power Rangers dance to Sexy and I Know It. All in all it was a fun holiday~

International Festival (aka INFES)

So this past Saturday (11/3) was INFES - a subsection of the two-day Gaidai Festival. I've mentioned here a bit before that basically since I've been here in Japan we've been working on the booths for INFES and it finally happened! I was part of the group in charge of the obakeyashiki (haunted house) and specifically was part of the Set team in charge of making decorations such as fake graves and a well for our Sadako actors to hide in. The night before INFES we all stayed at school extra late helping to create the maze of the haunted house and place the pieces we'd constructed. My group was mostly Japanese students, and working alongside them was really fun. Sometimes I had some language barrier issues, but I tried to speak mostly in Japanese during our meetings and not only was it good practice but I made a lot of great friends too. With all of us working together I really felt the school festival atmosphere that I'd only ever seen in anime or read about in manga. 

The day of the festival we all got to school around 7:30 in the morning (yes, I was awake, dressed AND at school before 8am) to put the final touches on the haunted house. Then there was an opening ceremony and the festival was on. There was a competition for King and Queen of the school, a booth with takoyaki with various fillings that represented international cuisine, music and dance performances and more. I got to look around a bit but I spent the main part of the afternoon working as a zombie in the haunted house. Scaring people was a LOT of fun, and we had really great makeup on to give us that undead look. The best part was wearing my makeup for the rest of the festival - especially during closing ceremonies when our entire group was just a line of zombies xD Participating in INFES, and specifically being part of the obakeyashiki group, is probably the decision I'm happiest about since I've been here in Japan. It was a lot of hard work, but it was really fun and definitely worth it.

"Infes" is our school's "International Festival" which was held yesterday and today.  

Just like the animes, guys. Just.Like.Them.

Students put together food stalls/booths and sell handmade things...It was really neat.  The international students mostly put together booths on their home countries.  I did not participate in the American booth.  Seeing as there are over 200 American students here, I figured they'd be okay without me :P  There was even a haunted house, (AGAIN. JUST.LIKE.THE.ANIMES.).

So, I ran by the festival for a bit today and went to Hirakata station.  I went by Tsutaya because I was reminded this past week about another manga series I need to pick up while I'm here (Otome Youkai Zakuro).  I had to ask where it was because they have a funny way of organizing things...When I checked out, I had 5 manga and a monthly manga magazine with me.  When the lady was ringing me up, she asked if I had a points card.  I told her I didn't, so she asked if I wanted to make one.  I thought about it, but figured it'd be too much of a hassle, so I declined her offer.  She then said, in English, "you don't need an ID for the points card"  I was kind of taken aback by her English!  She continued and said that she said that she noticed I come there a lot (LOL) and recommended I get the points card.  So after that I was like SURE THING!!!  She showed me what to do, but sadly, I have not memorized my dorm address.  I asked her if I could fill it out next time and she said that would be fine.  I told her "Eigo wa jouzu desu ne!!!" (You're English is good, isn't it!)  She was extremely flattered.  It was pretty awesome.  I love the staff at Tsutaya.  Always so nice. XD

After Tsutaya, I wanted to play some UFO catchers.  I went to AEON and played one.  I ended up winning a care bear, a strange dog/cat thing, and a cute anime plush.  I had an audience while I played.  Three little girls were watching me play...Too cute!  There was a chance to win the care bear very easily, so I did and gave it to one of the girls.  She was speechless, but her little eyes were like "THANK YOU" LOL!!!  They watched me again as I won the two other plushes.  They would say "sugoi!" when I won something or got close to it.  Just too cute.

I made some stew for KD.  She has a sick. :<  She has a cold and didn't feel up to cooking, so I bought some stew stuffs and made her potato, carrot and chicken stew.  She seemed to really like it which made me happy. ^_^